A dump truck hit 13 vehicles on a Florida roadway after the driver suffered a medical emergency, authorities said, leaving two people injured.
The crash happened on Wednesday, Dec. 17, just before 8 a.m. local time. Officials said the dump truck was traveling east on Fruitville Road near the intersection of Tatum Road in Sarasota when the driver experienced a medical incident, lost control, and plowed into vehicles that were stopped at a red light.
“All of us vehicles were sitting at the red light for Tatum Road, and all of a sudden, I heard this crunching sound,” Hannah Moore, who was driving her child to school, told ABC affiliate WWSB. “I turned to look out the window, and the dump truck was just barreling through the car.”
Authorities said at least two people were taken to nearby hospitals with injuries that were not considered incapacitating.
The extent of the wreckage stretched hundreds of feet, according to officials on scene.
“All of the destruction within 350-400 feet is immense,” Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Ken Watson told WWSB. “We are doing everything we can to put the pieces of this puzzle together. Everyone is very fortunate that there were not more serious injuries.”
Watson added that drivers should maintain “situational awareness,” though he noted that incidents like this are uncommon.
“Unfortunately, this was an event that was medical in nature and could not be foreseen,” he told the outlet.
The investigation remains ongoing.
